1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antireflection film mounted on the front sides of display devices (image display devices) such as liquid crystal displays (LCD), organic and inorganic electroluminescence displays (ELD), field emission displays (FED), cathode ray tube display devices (CRT) and plasma displays (PDP).
2. Related Background Art
In the displays mentioned above, it is required to reduce reflection of light rays irradiated from external light sources such as fluorescent lamps in order to increase the visibility of the display surfaces.
Antireflection films are already known that have a base material/hard coat layer/low refractive index layer structure as the basic layers.
When such an antireflection film is applied for a display surface to prevent damage to the display surface, the low refractive index layer surface of the antireflection film must also have antifouling properties, including fingerprint wiping. It is extremely important for such an antireflection film to have surface flatness on the hard coat layer, in order to avoid formation of film thickness variation in the anti-reflection layer that can cause color streaks and defects.
In an antireflection film having such a hard coat layer, often the surface of the hard coat layer is flattened (by leveling to create a smooth surface), and a silicon compound (silicon-based leveling agent) or fluorinated compound (fluorine-based leveling agent) is added to the hard coat layer-forming resin composition to impart an antifouling property, thus forming a hard coat layer. The silicon compound (silicon-based leveling agent) has the function of imparting to the layer surface slidability and antifouling properties against markers in addition to fingerprints, for improved mar-proofness. The fluorinated compound (fluorine-based leveling agent), on the other hand, has the function of providing the layer surface with improved antifouling properties including fingerprint wiping.